1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a novel bar-code symbol driven Internet Access Terminal, and method of accessing Internet-based information resources by scanning bar code symbols encoded with Uniform Resource Locators (URLS) or Domain Name/Path Name (DN/PN) portions thereof indicating the location of such information resources on the Internet.
2. Background of the Invention
Presently, several techniques have been developed for connecting to or accessing (i.e., xe2x80x9csurfingxe2x80x9d among) Internet-based information resources on the World Wide Web (WWW) using conventional graphical user interface (GUI) based Internet browser programs, such as the Navigator(copyright) from Netscape Communications, Inc. or the Internet Explorer(copyright) from Microsoft, Inc. The availability of any particular Web-site surfing technique depends on where the Internet user finds him or, her self in the Internet browser program at any particular instant of time.
For example, if one is currently at a Web-site (i.e., in a particular HyperText Markup Language (HTML) document), at which there is a highlighted or embedded xe2x80x9clinkxe2x80x9d specifying the Internet address of another Web-site (i.e., another HTML document), then the user can access (i.e., xe2x80x9csurf toxe2x80x9d) this other Web-site by simply xe2x80x9cclicking onxe2x80x9d or selecting the highlighted URL with his or her pointing device (i.e., xe2x80x9cmousexe2x80x9d) in a conventional manner. The ability to connect to other Web-sites by simply pointing and clicking on highlighted URLs embedded in an HTML document has contributed enormously to the growth and popularity of the Internet in the last few years.
If the user desires to connect to a Web-site that is not referenced in a HTML document viewed through a browser program, then the user oftentimes finds it necessary to manually enter the URL of the Web-site (e.g., xe2x80x9chttp://www.metrologic.comxe2x80x9d) into the browser program. This requires manually pressing a sequence of keys on a keyboard or remote control device, corresponding to the characters of the URL being selected. In addition to being time consuming, this Web-site surfing technique is prone to errors, causing the browser program to connect to the wrong Web-site or return an error message stating that the Domain Name of the Web-site sought after cannot be found. From a practical point of view, this is quite frustrating to the Internet user.
More recently, with the growth and ever increasing complexity of the WWW, it is becoming popular to use printed publications (e.g., magazines, catalogues, directories, etc.) which list Websites, corresponding URLs and content descriptions as navigational aids, much in same way that the TV GUIDEO magazine is used to help viewers select programs during television viewing. Again, however, each time a listed Web-site is to be viewed, the user is forced to manually enter into the Internet browser program the lengthy character string associated with the URL of the Web-site being selected. Only thereafter does the browser program automatically connect the user""s client system (i.e., Internet Terminal) to the Internet Server computer supporting the selected Web-site.
While the development of HTML and GUI-based Web browser programs have made accessing Web-sites relatively simple, the above shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art Internet technology clearly indicate a great need in the art for an improved system and method of accessing information resources on the Internet.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for accessing and navigating among information resources on the Internet, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art systems and methodologies.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an Internet Access System which includes a bar code symbol reader for reading DN/PN-encoded (Domain Name and Path Name encoded) or URL-encoded (Uniform Resource Location encoded) bar code symbols printed on various types of objects, including print media, which, when read thereby, automatically connects the Internet Access System to the Internet Server that contains the information resource specified by the scanned DN/PN-encoded or URL-encoded bar code symbol.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System, wherein the bar code symbol reader may be a laser scanning bar code symbol reader, a CCD-type bar code symbol, or a Wand-type bar code symbol reader.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System, wherein the DN-encoded bar code symbol printed on various types of print media is a DN/PN-encoded truncated-type bar code symbol, having a very low height to length ratio, thereby allowing many URL-encoded bar code symbols to be printed on a single sheet or page of a Web-site guide, along with their corresponding human-readable URLs and content descriptions.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System, wherein the URL-encoded bar code symbol printed on various types of print media is a URL-encoded truncated-type bar code symbol, having a very low height to length ratio, thereby allowing many URL-encoded bar code symbols to be printed on a single sheet or page of a Web-site guide, along with their corresponding human-readable URLs and content descriptions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System in the form of a desktop, laptop or palmtop computer system that is connected to the Internet by way of an Internet Service Provider (ISP), wherein the computer system has a GUI-based web browser program and a programmed bar code symbol scanner interfaced therewith for automatically surfing to information resources (e.g., Web-sites) listed in a Web-site guide by simply scanning corresponding URL-encoded bar code symbols printed on the pages thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an Internet Access System in the form of an interactive web-based television system, wherein the web-based television system comprises an Internet terminal unit connected to the Internet by way of an ISP, an audio-visual display monitor for displaying graphical and audio information content of Web-sites, and a portable Internet surfing device having a wireless IR-based communication link to the Internet terminal unit and an integrated bar code symbol scanner for automatically surfing to (or among) Web-sites listed in a Web-site guide by simply scanning corresponding URL-encoded bar code symbols printed on the pages thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System in the form of a Scanner Integrated Terminal, wherein the Scanner Integrated Terminal is connectable to the Internet by way of a wireless (RF) link to an ISP, and has an integrated GUI-based web browser program, display panel, keypad, and programmed bar code symbol scanner for automatically surfing to Web-sites listed in a Web-site guide by simply scanning corresponding DN-encoded (or URL-encoded) bar code symbols printed on the pages thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of surfing to Web-sites on the Internet by scanning URL-encoded bar code symbols into GUI-based web browser programs, without the need of manual data entry operations or the like.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an Internet Access System, which includes an optical character reader programmed to read the character strings of URLs printed on various types of print media which, when read thereby, automatically connects the Internet Client System to the Internet Server that supports the Web-site specified by the read URL.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System in the form of a desktop, laptop or palmtop computer system that is connected to the Internet by way of an Internet Service Provider (ISP), wherein the computer system has a GUI-based web browser program and a programmed optical character reader interfaced therewith for automatically surfing to Web-sites listed in a Web-site guide by simply reading corresponding URLs printed on the pages thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an Internet Access System in the form of an interactive web-based television system, wherein the web-based television system comprises an Internet terminal unit connected to the Internet by way of an ISP, an audio-visual (AV) display monitor for displaying graphical and audio information content of Web-sites, and a portable Internet surfing device having a wireless IR-based communication link to the Internet Terminal unit and an integrated optical character reader for automatically surfing to Web-sites listed in a Web-site guide by simply scanning corresponding URLs printed on the pages thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an Internet Access System in the form of a Scanner Integrated Terminal, wherein the Scanner Integrated Terminal is connectable to the Internet by way of a wireless (RF) link to an ISP, and has an integrated GUI-based web browser program, display panel, keypad, and programmed optical character reader for automatically surfing to Web-sites listed in a Web-site guide by simply scanning corresponding URLs printed on the pages thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of surfing to Web-sites on the Internet by optically scanning the character strings of URLs into GUI-based web browser programs, without the need of manual data entry operations and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system and method for printing URL-encoded bar code symbols on various types of print media which, when read thereby, automatically connects the Internet Client System to the Internet Server that supports the Web-site specified by the scanned URL-encoded bar code symbol.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system in the form of a suitably programmed desktop Web-linked computer workstation or laptop computer system having a graphical user interface and an Internet browser program having a plug-in type URL-Menu Composition/Printing Module that supports the bar code menu composition, transmission and printing processes of the present invention.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system, in which the Internet browser program and plug-in URL-Menu Composition/Printing Module allow the user to easily compile the following information structure during operation of the Internet browser program: a list of human-readable URLs corresponding to a set or course of information serving Web-sites, a set of URL-encoded bar code symbol data structures corresponding thereto, a set of titles assigned to the URLs, a set of brief descriptions of content served at the Web-sites, and date or dates the set of Web-sites were last visited by the compiler for subsequent printing in the form of a menu.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system, in which the compiled information structure can be electronically transmitted to a remote site, by e-mail, facsimile transmission, or other protocol available over the Internet, and thereafter printed out using appropriate print-driver software, so that the Web-sites listed in the compiled information structure can be easily visited by reading the corresponding URL-encoded bar code symbol into the Internet browser program using a bar code scanner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel Web-site guide or directory comprising one or more sheets having a plurality of URL-encoded bar code symbols, corresponding human-readable URLs and Web-site content descriptions printed thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel Web-based document tracking and management system, in which each printed document (e.g., brochure, drawing, 3-D objects or specimens, photograph, specification, blue-print, and the like) to be tracked and managed within the system is uniquely assigned and affixed with a printed URL-encoded bar code symbol that specifies (i.e., points to) a particular information storage location within an HTML-encoded relational database management system (RDBMS), realized on a Web-based information server located on the Internet or behind the corporate firewall of an HTTP-supporting Intranet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a Web-based document tracking and management system, in which information relating to a document registered within the system can be easily accessed therefrom by simply scanning the printed URL-encoded bar code symbol on the document using the bar code symbol reader associated with an Internet Access Terminal (i.e., client computer system) of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a Web-based document tracking and management system, in which the Internet Access Terminal of each user can be used to: (1) assign a URL-encoded bar code symbol to any document to be registered with the system; (2) enter document-related information into the information storage location assigned to the document within the Web-based RDBMS; (3) print out URL-encoded bar code symbols for attachment to corresponding documents registered within the system; (4) modify at any time the document-related information currently stored in the information storage location assigned to the document within the Web-based RDBMS; and (5) access such document related information from the system by simply reading its corresponding URL-encoded bar code symbol.
Another object of the present invention to provide a Web-based package routing, tracking and delivering system and method that uses URL-encoded bar code symbols on parcels and packages.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a Web-based package routing, tracking and delivery system and method, wherein one or more Routing, Tracking and Delivery (RTD) Internet Server Subsystems are connected to the Internet and updated at any instant of time with package related information produced by either (i) a Package Log-In/Shipping Subsystem that is located at a product shipping location (e.g., warehouse) and connected to the RTD Internet Server by a first data communication link, (ii) a Package Routing Subsystem that is located at a hub station and connected to the RTD Internet Server by a second data communication link, or (iii) a Portable Package Delivery Subsystem that is carried by the package delivery person and connected to the RTD Internet Server by a wireless data communication link.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a Web-based package routing, tracking and delivery system and method, wherein at each remote hub station within the system: the URL/ZIP-CODE encoded bar code symbol is automatically scanned; the encoded destination Zip Code is locally recovered and used to route the package at the hub station; and the locally recovered URL is used to access the RTD Internet Server and update the location of the package within the system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a Web-based package routing, tracking and delivery system and method, wherein when the URL/ZIP-CODE Encoded bar code symbol is read by the deliveryman or courier using a portable (wireless) Internet Access Terminal, the recovered URL is used to automatically access the RTD Internet Server and display on the Internet Access Terminal, precise up-to-date parcel delivery information, payment-method terms, handling instructions and the like.
These and other Objects of the Present Invention will become apparent hereinafter.